QuestionMy 8 year old Kenwood surround receiver sometimes does, and sometimes does not work ( on-off, and volume) from the remote. First, I thought it was batteries, then when it had the same intermittent problem with new batteries, I bought a universal remote. Same problem, a third of the time it works, then it won't. Any ideas?
AnswerMy 8-year old Onkyo failed last year.
Unfortunately, I suspect that your unit has surpassed its life expectancy and has some transister, diode, capacitor, transformer, or other likely point of failure that has aged past "spec".
You can try looking for the IR pick-up on the front panel and swabbing it with alcohol or a paper-towel dampened with windex to ensure it is clean. If you feel handy you may also want to lift off the cover of the receiver and check for debris or an oily deposit around the IR pick-up itself. YOu can use a cotton swab and denatured alcohol to give it a good (but gentle) wash.
Another possiblity might be if you have recently replaced your light-bulbs with compact flourescents or you have added flourescent lighting to your room. These lights do sometimes "flicker" in the IR spectrum - jamming your remote control signal.
If it works when a certain light is off, but not when its on (or in the day and not at night) then that's a "good news" problem. It's a somewhat slim possibility, but here's hoping...
I wish you luck.
